


so sweet to try

by changgus



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Getting Together, Internalized Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24901540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/changgus/pseuds/changgus
Summary: You're so sweet to try, oh my, you caught my eyeA [boy] like you's just irresistibleJinyoung wasn’t always a morning person. Not when he was ten and his older sisters would poke and prod him awake or when he’d have to rush to the bus stop in hopes of getting a good seat or in college when an early morning only lead to an exhausted march across campus to a lecture he’d only half pay attention to as the coffee set in. Things have changed though, now that he has the bakery, his baby. The morning rush is the most exciting part of his day.
Relationships: Im Jaebum | JB/Park Jinyoung, incredibly background Mark Tuan/Jackson Wang
Comments: 19
Kudos: 128





	so sweet to try

**Author's Note:**

> okay so if any of you were on the jjp amino back in 2016 you may recognize this as i originally started it for the first fic fest over there but after four years i decided to blow off the dust and finish it. the characterizations are a little more in line with how i saw them at that time and probably not wholly accurate to how i would write them now but i guess just something to note. anyway, please enjoy!

Jinyoung wasn’t always a morning person. Not when he was ten and his older sisters would poke and prod him awake or when he’d have to rush to the bus stop in hopes of getting a good seat or in college when an early morning only lead to an exhausted march across campus to a lecture he’d only half pay attention to as the coffee set in. Things have changed though, now that he has the bakery, his baby. The morning rush is the most exciting part of his day.

He pulls back the curtains on the large windows at the front of the shop just as the early morning light starts to filter through. It’s spring now and the mornings are still cold and crisp as the last of winter falls away quietly. Jinyoung loves the way the world looks at this time, soft and sleepy and about to bloom.

Jackson Wang, star employee and compulsive crowd pleaser regardless of the early hour, comes in from the back, rubbing sleepily at his eyes. His apron is a little rumpled but in an endearing way because almost everything Jackson does is endearing in some way or another.

“Rough night?” Jinyoung asks, flipping the sign on the front door to ‘Open’.

“Took the closing shift downtown.”

Jackson struggles to straighten his apron out, running his hands repeatedly down the front. The bags under his eyes are getting dark again.

“You work too much, Jackson. You know that, right?”

Jackson only yawns in response.

The first hour after opening is usually quiet and Jinyoung tries his best not to be nervous about it. He remembers when he first scraped enough money together to rent a space and he had to beg people to stop by even just for a cup of coffee. That was years ago, and they have a steady stream of regulars and tourists coming in now, but the feeling that he might lose it at any moment still lingers.

Around seven the bell above the front door jingles and their first customer rushes in, blowing out a shivering breath into his cold hands.

“Americano?” Jinyoung asks, marker poised against the side of the coffee cup before Namjoon can even make it to the counter.

“Yeah, the usual.”

Namjoon’s been coming in for over a year now and swears the coffee here is the only thing getting him through whatever difficult and winding thesis he’s always telling them about while his coffee brews. Jinyoung feels exhausted just hearing about it. He’s explaining something very specific using a lot of hand gestures when the bell above the door jingles again.

Most mornings are casual and quiet as the regulars trickle in and out or park themselves at one of the small tables inside the bakery to grind through breakfast. Sometimes in the early afternoon they’ll get a group of tourists or businessmen ducking in on their lunch breaks. Other than that, new faces don’t pop in too often.

New faces that look more like celebrities than exhausted college students pop in even less.

Not only is the new customer handsome, but he’s also dressed way too stylishly for before the sun has properly risen. His leather jacket stretches over his broad shoulders in a way that makes Jinyoung think maybe today will be a good day after all. Jinyoung calls out his sweetest and most charming greeting as he finishes bagging Namjoon’s everything bagel and slides it over the counter.

He can feel the disaster coming as Namjoon grabs his things and, in what feels like an eternity but is in actuality only a few painfully slow seconds, spins and spills his coffee all over the man who’s joined him in line.

Namjoon sputters out an apology, attempting helplessly to dab at the mess on the other man’s shirt with the one paper napkin that had been wrapped around his coffee cup before he sent it to it’s grave. The man looks like he’s trying to decide whether to laugh or scream.

Jinyoung grabs a proper handful of napkins and runs out from behind the counter to try to save the day.

“I’m so sorry, our Namjoonie doesn’t always know where his limbs are.”

This earns a laugh from the man and a scoff from Namjoon as Jinyoung hands over the napkins. He wishes this was the first time someone’s spilled something all over his pristine bakery floor, but it’s not even the first time _Namjoon’s_ spilled something here.

“I know where they are,” Namjoon protests, now blotting at his own wet clothes. “I just…don’t always know what they’re doing.”

“Can I get started on your order…?”

“Jaebeom, and I’ll take a coffee, black.”

“It’s on the house, Jaebeom-ssi. Or maybe I’ll put it on Namjoon’s tab.”

“As long as this one doesn’t end up on my clothes…” Jaebeom mutters, but he cracks a small smile as he tosses the wad of wet napkins in the trash. Jinyoung smiles brightly as he returns to his post behind the counter and gets the coffee going.

“Try not to wear this round either, Namjoon-ah.” Jinyoung calls while Namjoon drags himself to his usual table to strip out of his now-damp coat.

Jackson’s shoulders shake with barely controlled laughter as he drags out the mop from the back.

\---

“You know, we do sell more than coffee here.” Jinyoung gestures to the display case he’d spent the better part of an hour arranging before opening that morning.

This is the third time Jaebeom’s returned since his first disastrous visit and in all three times he’s refused to stray from his simple coffee order. Jackson had tried to tempt him with a very beautifully decorated cupcake, his most dazzling smile, and an insistence that Jaebeom needed to treat himself last week but was rejected wholesale.

“I don’t like breakfast.” Jaebeom finally concedes, which is a statement Jinyoung just doesn’t understand at all and he expresses as much with his face as he takes Jaebeom’s card.

“Nothing?”

“Nope.”

“There’s coffee shops all down the block, Jaebeom-ssi.” Jinyoung grabs Jaebeom’s credit card a little more aggressively than he intended to. As much as the perfect drink goes hand-in-hand with what he’s trying to do, ultimately his passion is in the pastries and he feels slightly dejected that Jaebeom won’t even try one.

“I like it here though.”

Jinyoung’s cheeks burn as he hands back the credit card. He purposely makes sure their hands don’t touch as he does in an attempt to regain some sort of control over the situation.

“You’d like it even more if you actually _tried_ something, Jaebeom-ssi.”

He seems to consider this sincerely as he takes the very hot and yet very boring cup of plain black coffee from Jinyoung’s hands. The soft smile that follows does nothing for the heat behind Jinyoung’s face. 

The next week, Jaebeom adds a freshly baked scone to his order.

\---

Spring is fully underway and the flower boxes outside the bakery windows are overflowing with color. The weather is just warm enough that they’ve been able to pull the outdoor tables out of storage and some of their earlier morning customers seem just a little more alive when they come crawling in before the sun.

Jinyoung is crouched down behind the counter, setting out a fresh tray of sugar cookies iced to look like daisies, when BamBam runs into the bakery yelling his name. His usual partner in crime is trailing behind him and giggling.

“Yah!” Jinyoung yells in response, almost smacking his head off the display case as he stands up. “There are other customers.”

As much as he may try to reprimand them, he can’t ever properly get mad at the kids. He’s known them too long and seen them grow too much. He remembers when they were bratty little high schoolers and really he’s just grateful they’ve moved on from that phase.

Yugyeom leans against the counter and smiles in a way that feels just a bit too sinister for Jinyoung’s liking.

“Hyung,” he whines, still smiling. “You should’ve told us you got a boyfriend.”

Jinyoung narrows his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. He doesn’t even have to ask where they got that from. There’s only one person in his friend group who likes to gossip more than the children.

“We won’t tell anyone.” BamBam tries with an innocent smile. He uses his cute face to his advantage too much.

“There’s nothing to tell.” Jinyoung responds, throwing his hands up. “He’s definitely not my boyfriend. I don’t even know if he knows my name.”

“But there is a he?”

“Maybe…but he’s not here.”

Yugyeom and BamBam share a look like Jinyoung just dismantled all their plans and that makes him nervous. They mean well ultimately, but they’re a mess. All of his friends are a mess.

“If he _were_ here…” BamBam tries again.

“He’s not.”

Jackson makes his entrance then and if his arms weren’t full with a tray of bread fresh out of the oven, Jinyoung would’ve hit him. He loves his little found family, but he also loves having his privacy. He doesn’t have any social media for a reason. Sometimes he just wants to harbor a crush in private without everyone getting involved and making it a bigger deal than it is.

“He says Jaebeom’s not his boyfriend, hyung.” Yugyeom says pointedly, hands on his hips. As if Jinyoung was somehow ruining his life with this information.

“You told them his name?”

Jackson’s eyes go wide for a second when he realizes he’s been caught, but then he shrugs with the tray and continues on his way. Jinyoung sighs and heads for the cover of the backroom where no one can pester him about his non-existent love life.

\---

Jaebeom’s sitting in the far corner of the bakery at one of the small tables, fingers drumming distractedly against the notebook in front of him. He’s wearing an oversized sweater today and the sleeves cover up most of his hands. Jinyoung is trying his best not to stare.

“You should just talk to him.” Jackson supplies helpfully, smacking Jinyoung across the small of his back with the towel he’d just been using to wipe down the counter.

“Hm, hadn’t thought of that.”

“I’m serious.”

Jinyoung pouts for a moment before pushing off the counter to at least pretend he’s doing something work related and not just daydreaming about handsome boys in big sweaters. Jackson follows him and watches him needlessly arrange and rearrange strawberry danishes that have looked perfect since Jinyoung first took them off the tray.

“You know, there’s a reason I’m the only one getting laid between the two of us.”

“That’s not fair, you only even know Mark because of me.”

“I’m just saying.” Jackson sing-songs as he skips away to the safety of the backroom.

Jinyoung scoffs.

He’s thought about just talking to Jaebeom before, about moving past charming one-liners as he slides over his coffee, black, and a scone, formerly plain but now blueberry, every Tuesday morning. He’s read more than enough romance novels to fuel every fantasy of how that could go. He’s also lived twenty-six long years and rejection is a bitter taste he’s not sure he can stomach.

It’s been two full months now since Jaebeom started coming in and Jinyoung feels like they’ve barely made any progress. He doesn’t know anything about him other than the few details he’s forced out in the minutes Jaebeom’s with him at the counter.

He does know that he’s officially pining, which he’s disgusted by, but his inner romantic is also almost enjoying it.

“ _I like it here._ ” Jaebeom’s soft smile echoes in Jinyoung’s mind. He still doesn’t quite know what that means, but he’ll take it.

\---

Mark has been Jinyoung’s best friend since high school and there is no one on this earth that Jinyoung trusts more. Mark is also bad at advice; or rather Mark is bad at telling Jinyoung what he wants to hear which in this case Jinyoung is classifying as bad advice.

“Dude, all I’m saying is you can’t keep pining.”

He’s stretched out on Jinyoung’s couch with his phone pressed nearly to his nose as he taps away at some game he’d tried but failed to get Jinyoung to play on no less than three occasions. Jinyoung is also stretched out on the couch but he feels less casual and more dramatic rom-com heroine and the image is only ruined by Mark’s sock-clad feed on his chest.

“I don’t even know if he likes men, Mark.”

“You could, I don’t know, ask him.”

Jinyoung sits up so Mark can feel the full impact of his glare. He feels like he can classify this one as objectively bad advice. He can only put himself on the line in so many ways and outing himself to a stranger in the hopes that said handsome stranger will be on the same page seems just a bit too risky for his tastes.

“Okay, I mean like...not directly.” Mark backtracks quickly. “But you could ask him to hang out. Figure it out from there.”

“Wouldn’t that be weird though?”

“Asking out a customer? I can list at least fifty weirder things you’ve done to get a boy’s attention. Maybe sixty if you give me a minute to really think back.”

It pains him to admit it, so he won’t, but Mark has a point.

He hasn’t had more than a passing crush in the past two years and it’s never been on someone he’s had to actively see once a week, but even so something about Jaebeom feels different. Talking to him, even briefly, feels like talking to someone he’s known for a long time. They just click together.

“Okay, fine.”  


\---

Jaebeom comes in later than usual that week, breath coming in hard as he shakes the worst of the water out of his rain-soaked hair. It’s been a consistent downpour for the past two hours and the bakery light feels too harsh against the dark, rumbling clouds beyond the broad glass windows.

He seems to be in a mood as he claims his usual table and Jinyoung’s resolve to finally have a real conversation wavers. It doesn’t help when Jaebeom barely even smiles at Jinyoung’s perfectly curated weather-themed joke and insists on his regular black coffee before sulking back to his corner.

Jinyoung can feel Jackson’s pressuring eyes on him as he quickly whips up Jaebeom’s order. He knows him and Mark have been talking about this when he’s not around, that they think hooking up with each other gives them some sort of authority over his nonexistent love life.

They gossip because they care and for once Jinyoung lets it strengthen his resolve.

He scribbles his phone number under Jaebeom’s name on the paper cup and marches it over to his table himself. Jaebeom looks up as Jinyoung sets the cup down and mumbles out a confused ‘thank you’ but Jinyoung is already walking back to the counter to take care of the next customer.

Jinyoung is too nervous and cares too much about not seeming overly invested to see if Jaebeom has any other reaction, but he can’t help but smile softly to himself when Jaebeom takes the cup with him as leaves.

\---

  
It’s another week before he gets a text from an unknown number and Jinyoung tries his best not to choke on his glass of wine when he realizes it must be Jaebeom.

7:53 PM  
[Unknown]: hey

“How am I supposed to work with this?” He asks, shoving his phone in Jackson’s face. He didn’t know what to expect out of his moment of boldness, but he’d definitely been hoping for more than a ‘hey.’ It’s hard to flirt with just a ‘hey.’

“I mean, he actually texted so that means he’s interested, doesn’t it?”

“Or he feels bad for me.”

Jackson levels him with a look and reaches for his phone, which Jinyoung knows is a bad idea but is just buzzed enough to let happen.

He watches nervously as Jackson types out a brief message and then, after a minute, another. Jackson’s smiling now, biting his bottom lip as if he can barely contain himself, which only triples Jinyoung’s anxiety. He drains the rest of his wine before Jackson finally slides his phone back across the table.

Jinyoung skims the conversation, cringing at Jackson’s liberal use of emoticons, but feeling overall impressed with how well Jackson can pretend to be him. Jackson had somehow spun Jaebeom’s ‘hey’ into a conversation about some pretentious film that had just been released and Jinyoung couldn’t even be mad because it was much smoother than anything he’d have been able to come up with.

Three dots bounce at the bottom of the screen as Jaebeom types his response and Jinyoung can feel how pink his face is.

8:00 PM  
[Unknown]: we should see it

Jinyoung has to put his phone down for a moment to collect himself. He doesn’t want to seem too eager and he needs the break to think of about eight million different ways of thanking Jackson for being better on the spot than he is anyway.

He finally picks his phone back up and tries not to smile too much as he responds.

8:05 PM  
[Jinyoung]: together?

8:07 PM  
[Unknown]: this weekend?

\---

Jinyoung doesn’t mean to overthink everything. He doesn’t mean to let anxiety and eight million different thoughts and scenarios eat him up from the inside out. It’s just how his brain works. It’s also exactly why he’s spent the last hour trying on every sweater in his closet to meet a boy he barely knows for what he’s not exactly sure is a date.

They’ve texted a few times since the other day and every time Jinyoung has to sit and collect himself before replying. Jaebeom’s responses were never very long, but not because he had nothing to say. He was smart and funny in a cheesy way and Jinyoung feels like they’ve been talking for years. All the months of attempted one-liners over the bakery counter feel like they were a lifetime ago.

His phone goes off as if on cue.

6:30  
[Lim Jaebeom]: I’ll be there in 5

Jinyoung knows this can’t possibly be as big a deal as he’s making it out to be, but he still feels a twist in his stomach reading the message anyway. He pulls on a soft pink sweater that hits his ass just right and decides it’ll work.

He hears the front door buzz and lets it hang in the air for a moment before answering. Jaebeom appears slightly blurry on the security screen and he’s dressed in the same nice leather jacket as the first day they met. His hair is soft and hanging just a little too long in his face.

“I’ll be down in a minute.” Jinyoung rushes into the intercom, adjusting his sweater one last time and doing a quick check for his phone and keys.

As handsome as Jaebeom had looked as a small and grainy image on a screen, in person he almost has Jinyoung blushing. He seems nervous, leaning just outside the front door of Jinyoung’s building and fidgeting with his phone. It makes Jinyoung feel less like his stomach is about to jump out of his throat.

“Hey.”

Jaebeom startles but tries to play it off coolly, running his fingers through his hair.

“Hey.”

They only make small talk on the way to the theater but it doesn’t feel uncomfortable. Jinyoung feels slightly like he’s back in high school with all the caution that brings. Most guys he’s dated in recent years he’s met through mutual friends, but this is new and different and learning the boundaries with Jaebeom is exciting.

He lets their hands brush gently as they get closer to the theater and tries to not read into it when Jaebeom pulls away.  


\---

The movie is long and pretentious in every way Jinyoung expects it to be but he loves it. Jaebeom seems to feel the same as the nervousness fades away and he keeps going on about the cinematography and the score.

There’s something safe about the darkness of a movie theater, about the sharing of a story, that melts the fear away. It feels like a private world, the two of them tucked into worn seats, shoes barely escaping the wrath of the soda-sticky floors. At some point Jaebeom slides his pinky over the back of Jinyoung’s hand on the arm rest and Jinyoung really does feel transported back to high school, to hiding every touch and tiptoeing around. This feels different now though and he flips his hand over so Jaebeom can take it properly.

Jinyoung shoves a handful of popcorn into his mouth and tries not to smile as the cast starts into another song. He feels like he could live in this moment.

When the lights go up, the safety goes with them and Jaebeom takes back his hand.

\---

Spring has bled into summer and outside the streets look like they’re melting under the heat. Jinyoung’s meticulously designed chalkboard advertisement for refreshing iced tea is one of the only things that can pull people into the bakery in this kind of weather. No one wants a heavy pastry when they’ve spent the day sweating in a stuffy office, but everyone wants a refreshing drink. Sometimes he can still charm them into a pastry too, something light and flaky and not too sweet. 

Jaebeom comes by the bakery more often now and has expanded his breakfast order from black coffee and a scone to hot tea and whatever creation Jinyoung is most proud of that day. Today it’s cupcakes with peach filling and a rich frosting.

“Here, try this.”

Jaebeom takes the cupcake from Jinyoung with the kind of caution of someone expecting to be poisoned. He peels back the paper slowly and takes such a tentative bite that Jinyoung wants to slam the whole thing in his face.

“You’re an asshole.”

He pouts and that’s enough to get Jaebeom laughing, which really just proves his point. Jinyoung crosses his arms over his chest.

“Alright, alright.” His shoulders are still shaking but he takes a full bite of the cupcake and hums as the frosting smears over his lips. “It’s good.”

“Just good?”

“Best cupcake I’ve ever had in my whole life.”

“You’re an asshole!” Jinyoung reaches out and pushes at his chest.

There’s a line of bright yellow frosting sitting at the corner of Jaebeom’s lip and Jinyoung wants desperately to reach out and brush it away with his finger or maybe press a kiss there and taste the sugar, but both feel like crossing a boundary neither of them are ready for.

He hands Jaebeom a napkin, pointing to the spot with his other hand, and bites down the feeling that he’s missing something.

\---

This week has been full of rainy days, fat drops streaking down the big front windows of the bakery and blurring the city view beyond them. All the tables are full of rain-soaked businessmen and students, clutching warm coffee mugs and pastry bags while they wait for the worst of the weather to subside. Jaebeom’s usual table in the back has been purloined by a large group of girls who have made themselves at home, dance bags and textbooks shoved under the row of tables they’d pushed together.

He lingers at the counter today, sipping his coffee slowly while he watches Jinyoung work.

“There’s a new movie coming out on Friday. We should go.”

Jaebeom isn’t even looking at Jinyoung as he says it, leaning with his back against the counter casually like he belongs there. They’ve done this a few times now and every time it’s the same. Jaebeom picks a pretentious art film. Jinyoung loves it.

They’ve started to fit into each other, knowing instinctively when to fill the walk from Jinyoung’s apartment with analysis and reviews of everything else they’ve seen and when to keep comfortably quiet. Jaebeom would usually make a lame joke as they got closer to the theater. Jinyoung would cover his mouth and laugh. It’s an easy rhythm.

It’s an easy rhythm but it’s still new and Jinyoung is never quite sure if they’re dates until the theater lights dip low and Jaebeom threads his fingers through his. Still, as soon as the lights come up again he finds himself empty handed every time.

Today Jaebeom is overplaying his nonchalance and Jinyoung can physically feel the nervousness radiating from his body. He hums for a moment like he might consider saying no.

“Okay.”

Jinyoung can play it cool too when he wants. He wipes down the counter slowly like something about this time doesn’t feel different. Like Jaebeom’s nervousness isn’t bleeding over.

“Okay?” Jaebeom raises his eyebrows slightly, like he thought Jinyoung might actually reject him this time.

“Mhm.”

Jaebeom’s smile is sweet and shy in response. He reaches out and puts his hand over Jinyoung’s where he’s been rubbing the towel against the same clean spot repeatedly for over a minute now. He’s never reached out like this outside the safety of their movies.

“You could take me out to dinner too?” Jinyoung tries his luck, conscious of how warm his hand feels with Jaebeom’s pressed over it.

“Okay.”

They both smile wide and Jinyoung feels like he could sing with the swell of it.

\---

There’s a used bookstore between the bakery and Jinyoung’s apartment that smells like dust and cinnamon tea and it’s Jinyoung’s favorite place in the whole city. It’s cramped with overflowing shelves and mismatched chairs shoved into the spaces between the stacks. Every surface is filled up with book after book, some falling apart at the seams with pages ready to jump ship at any moment. It’s warm and though sometimes if he’s been there too long the old woman behind the counter will start to give him suspicious looks, it feels like another home.

It’s where Jinyoung goes when he needs a break and lately he’s really, really needed a break.

The bakery is absolutely his dream and everyday he gets to walk in to his family, his people, and do what he does, it makes him feel like he’s the luckiest man in the world. But it’s also incredibly tough and the hours on his feet, kneading into dough with his hands until his knuckles ache, averting constant disaster at the hands of employees and beloved regulars, it all adds up. It adds up and every now and then he just needs to dip out and indulge in the peace of an empty bookstore and their different, quieter brand of chaos. 

Jinyoung feels an immediate wave of calm wash over him to the tune of the bell over the door. Today it’s not the old woman working, but her nephew who calls out a greeting from deep in the back of the store. Jinyoung always prefers when it’s Youngjae, though he’s not sure the boy has ever read a book in his life. He’s very sweet and never rushes Jinyoung the way his aunt sometimes does. 

“Youngjae-yah,” Jinyoung starts as he walks through the stacks, fingers combing lightly over the spines of each book he passes. He takes his time, letting himself feel all the divets in the binding. “Have you-Oh?”

When he gets to the back where Youngjae is balancing a heavy stack of books in his arms, he’s surprised to see that he’s actually not alone. Though the bookstore somehow makes enough to stay open, Jinyoung’s never actually seen anyone else there. So he’s especially not expecting to run into Jaebeom. Though he did know that Jaebeom liked to read just as much, if not maybe more these days than he did. 

“Jinyoung-ah!” Jaebeom greets brightly, clearly also surprised. He looks handsome as ever, leather jacket traded for a faded denim today.

“You know each other?” Youngjae looks between the two of them.

“Yeah, Jinyoungie’s the one I’ve been telling you about. From the bakery.”

“Oh, so you _know_ each other.” Youngjae replies, almost conspiratorial and topped with a wink. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jinyoung asks but Youngjae just smiles in response before patting Jaebeom on the shoulder and slipping past the two of them to finish stocking new inventory from the back. Jinyoung feels vaguely confused still and turns on Jaebeom.

“You stole my bookstore boy.”

“What?”

“My bookstore boy, the boy who works at my bookstore.”

“Youngjae?”

Jinyoung nods very seriously, so Jaebeom can feel the severity of his crimes. Which he doesn’t, apparently, because he has the audacity to _laugh_ of all things. “Yes, him.”

“Oh, he’s my brother.”

There’s a moment where Jinyoung just squints at him before sounding the word out. “Brother?”

“Brother. Is that okay?”

“I’ll allow it, I suppose.”

Jaebeom barks out a laugh and for a moment Jinyoung is taken with just how _pretty_ he is. His eyes crinkle at the edges when he laughs and means it and he claps Jinyoung on the shoulder.

“You’ll allow it? You’re so kind and benevolent, Jinyoung-ah.”

Jinyoung hums, “That’s what everyone says.”

At this Jaebeom laughs again and Jinyoung can’t help but laugh too. Something subtle shifts in Jinyoung’s brain then, as he realizes just how well Jaebeom fits into his life, all the ways in which he just makes sense. It’s not even necessarily that something was missing or incomplete, just that with Jaebeom around everything is better.

“You’re staring.” Jaebeom breaks him from his thoughts and his eyes are soft, so soft. For just a moment Jinyoung thinks he really might lean in and kiss him here in the afternoon light of the bookstore. It’s such a stupid and passing thought and by the time Jinyoung blinks, Youngjae is back and clearing his throat.

“Hyung, were you looking for something?” He asks, looking at Jinyoung.

“Oh, no, I guess I was just wandering.” Jinyoung can’t even really remember if it’s true. Jaebeom’s hand is still firm on his shoulder, grounding. He can feel the warmth through his shirt.

“Well, I should head out. See you Friday?” And Jaebeom is looking at him that soft way again.

“It’s a date?”

“It’s a date.” Jaebeom shoots back, doing a little salute with his hand as he heads for the door. As Jinyoung hears the bell chime in the distance, he wonders if his ears look as red as they feel.

\---

Something about the bakery at night always leaves Jinyoung feeling a little lonely. After everyone else has gone home and he’s turned the sign on the door and it’s just him and the last closing chores, it’s easy to get lost in it. Sometimes Jackson tries to hang out and chat and sometimes Jinyoung lets him but he’d seemed so dead on his feet for the last hour tonight that Jinyoung had immediately shooed him off at the end of his shift.

And maybe right before shoving Jackson out the door he’d received a text from Jaebeom saying he’d be there to pick him up in about an hour and a half. 

Normally at this time Jinyoung would already be several trains of thought deep into feeling unsure about his life and his path, if he was doing the right thing and if he was going to be the last one alone. Anxiety eating at him in waves, rolling in his reflection in the dark front windows, watching as everyone lives their lives just beyond them. It makes him feel small.

He’s wiping down one of the middle tables when he hears the knock on the glass and looks up to see him, a little bit rain-soaked but smiling - Jaebeom. His eyes crinkle when they meet Jinyoung’s and the knot in Jinyoung’s chest unravels.

Jinyoung hurries over to open the door and usher him in. “I just have to wrap up a few more things.”

“Anything I can do to help?” Jaebeom looks straight from a magazine as he leans against one of the tables. It’s disgusting.

“Nope, you can just sit on the counter and look pretty.”

“Pretty?”

“I’m not playing this game with you, I know you look into the mirror everyday.” This pulls the laugh Jinyoung loves the most but Jaebeom obeys and parks himself on the counter, legs dangling.

“So, this is the behind the scenes?”

Jinyoung hums in response, moving to the last table before he’s done. “Very glamorous, I know.”

“I don’t know, I’m enjoying myself.” Something about the way he says it makes Jinyoung’s face heat up. When he turns to say something back, Jaebeom is eyeing him with his bottom lip worried between his teeth. 

“Yeah?” is all he can manage to say, tucking his rag into his back pocket.

“Yeah.” Jaebeom says, solid. He seems to think for another moment before making a decision. “I think I’d enjoy it more if you came over here though.”

Jinyoung raises a brow but walks to stand in front of Jaebeom, allows himself to be pulled in when Jaebeom opens his legs to make room. Jaebeom’s hands burn on his hips, stronger than he anticipated when he’s holding him like this.

“I’ve been thinking-” He starts, looking at his own hands where he hooks his fingers through Jinyoung’s belt loops.

“You? Thinking? _Never_.” Jinyoung scoffs, only sounding a little beyond fond. He rocks on his feet, a nervous habit, and Jaebeom steadies him.

“I’ve been _thinking_ -” He tries again. “There’s something I want to try, but...but I’ve been too scared to.”

Jinyoung breathes. “It’s okay, it’s okay to try, to be scared. It’s okay.”

Jaebeom looks at him like he is something precious, cups his palm around the curve of Jinyoung’s jaw. He scans his face carefully. Jinyoung thinks maybe if he looks hard enough he can see Jaebeom’s heart beating in his chest, each nervous pulse.

“Okay.”

Then Jaebeom leans forward and presses their lips together. 

Kissing Jaebeom feels like the most golden days of summer and the most bursting days of spring. There is a garden blooming full behind Jinyoung’s ribcage, ivy crawling over all the secret things he’s been holding these past months, sunflowers over the bursting of his heart.

“I think you should think more often.” Jinyoung’s lips curve into a smile as Jaebeom pinches at his hip.

“I’ll consider.” He laughs in return. “So it was a good idea then?”

“Maybe your best.”

So Jaebeom kisses him again, and again.

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/gayjinho) // [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/gayjinho)


End file.
